Henry Ross Escalette

September 18, 1931 - September 10, 2013 Ross Escalette of Newport Beach, CA passed away at his home on September 10th, 2013 He was 82 years old. Ross was born in Greenport, New York and grew up in East Hampton, New York. He graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA with a degree in economics in 1952 and joined Stanley Works in their commercial research division. Following service in the U.S. Army he returned to Stanley to become Marketing Manager of the Building Products Division. From There he moved on to Vice Presidential positions with several metalworking and builders hardware companies. In 1977 he became an importer of brass bathroom hardware, which was acquired by Amerock Corporation with Ross becoming Vice President and General Manager of the newly formed Auburn Brass. In 1986 along with his son Geoffrey and the rest of his family founded Brasstech/ Newport Brass that grew to become one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of high end plumbing products and accessories. Masco acquired that company in 2002. In retirement, Ross became heavily involved with non-profit organizations. He was the director of the Boys and Girls club of Santa Ana and Coachella Valley. He was a trustee and Governor at Chapman University where he and his wife Phyllis underwrote the university art collection, now known as the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Art Collection at Chapman. Ross was a Trustee of the Palm Springs and Palm Desert Art Museum. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Hidden Harvest of Coachella for 8 years. Along with his interest in non-profits, Ross never got out of the business scene. He served on the boards of four companies and was treasurer of his son Geoffrey new company Escalette LLC which took them back into the Decorative Hardware business when they acquired the Phylrich brand in 2012. Ross is survived by his wife of 54 years, Phyllis and two sons, Geoffrey and Phillip and daughter Suzanne as well as six grandchildren.